I started fiddling around with computers when I was approximately 5 years old or so, when my dad would bring home an old monochrome laptop from work. Soon afterwards, we got our first computer, a Packard Bell, 286, 40 Meg hard drive space, and 1 Meg of RAM!! With a VGA Monitor!!  This was back in 1989, at this was a state of the art computer.  Compared to today, hand held PCs and Palm Pilots are more powerful than this computer.  This computer was before Microsoft Windows came to be.  It used DOS version 3.3.  I still have that computer in my room, and have recently turned it on, and it still works, although I had to reset the time and the day.  All the programs work, even after 13 plus years, it still works, and was Y2K compliant as well.

My next computer we bought in 1998, a 233 Mhz, 48 Megs of RAM, 6 Gig hard drive, Windows 95.  Later that year, Windows 98 came out, and the computer was obsolete.  It served its purpose well for about 4 years, and now it resides in my room as my desktop computer, where I still use it for reports, games and various things.

After seeing how many games and other programs were taking away from his stuff, my dad contacted his friend to custom build a computer for him.  His friend made a 933 Mhz, 128 Megs of RAM, a 40 Gig Hard Drive (later he put an 80 Gig in it as well), and Windows 98 Second Edition.  He currently uses this computer, and to day, have over 6,000 MP3's on that computer. 

And finally, my computer right now, my Toshiba Laptop, 2405 - S201.  1.6 Ghz, 256 Megs of Ram, 30 Gig Hard Drive, DVD-CD-RW Drive.  This computer has been through a lot.  I used it primarily for school assignments and various other activities.

I have received many other computers through friends and donations and currently have 6 working computers, set up, in my room.  I also have many spare parts and are in the mist of upgrading a few of them and learning about how to build a computer with a few of the others.  

In elementary school, I had taken typing classes, on old Apple 2E Computers, and later on those little Macintosh boxes.  In high school is where I started with computers.  I took another typing class and later took a class for different applications on computers, I.E. Microsoft Office.  When I would be done with my assignments, or even when I was at home, I would just start checking out the computer, seeing different programs, going through the C: drive and just exploring around.  I learned different shortcuts, and along with some friends help, I learned of different ways to help tweak the computer performance wise and much much more.  

Much of what I have learned, I learned while I was doing it.  I never had any books to read, other than in my computers classes.  Just trial and error.  You have to remember that there is no one way to mess up a computer.  Anything you do, you can undo on the computer, up to a certain point.  Over the years, my knowledge of computers increased, and I learned different Windows Operating Systems, the insides and the outsides. 

I recently have begun building and upgrading computers.  I am learning more about the internal workings of a computer and hope to get my A+ certification in the near future.  I am also interested in Networking and have already configured a few home networks.